For the passengers and crew onboard of Air France flight 8969 everything was normal on December 24, 1994, until 4 terrorists from the Algerian terrorist group GIA, disguised as security agents, stormed the plane at Houari Boumediene airport in Algeria.
Wielding AK47s and UZIs, the Terrorists barricaded themselves and murdered 2 hostages as proof of their commitment.
Only 15 minutes later, the French government was notified about the hijacking through their own intelligence channels and immediately put their elite counter-terrorism unit GIGN on standby.
Nearly 9 hours into the crisis, the French government ordered GIGN to move, but they couldn’t persuade the Algerian government to accept outside help.
The terrorists had demanded to fly the plane to Paris, and after killing another passenger, they were allowed to take off towards Marseilles to refuel.
When the plane landed in French soil, the negotiations began immediately while disguised GIGN commandos examined the plane for booby-traps, entry points and placed listening devices on the outside of the plane. The official negotiations continued for hours and the terrorist got impatient and wanted to take off again.
With no time to wait, the no fail mission of the GIGN began. Using three mobile ramps, commandos rushed towards the aircraft but were spotted by the terrorist who opened fire.
The first team went through the right door while the other two teams went through the rear doors.
One hijacker was killed instantly and commandos stormed the craft under heavy fire. Grenades, flashbangs and hundreds of rounds created a layer of smoke which filled the cabin. Despite it all, within the first 2 minutes, hostages were being escorted out and 2 more terrorists were killed. The remaining terrorist retreated to the cockpit and was eventually killed by the commandos.
Explosives were found on the plane, and it was later discovered that the terrorists had planned to blow the craft in the air over Paris.
In all, the 17-minutes long attack had ended successfully. Over 1500 rounds had been fired, while four hijackers were killed. In total, three passengers were executed while the 173 people were saved. #gign #stayzero